Lucybespro
It is a performances centric movie
Spidersecu
Don't Believe the Hype
Humbersi
The first must-see film of the year.
Tyreece Hulme
One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.
dbdumonteil
Eduardo Noriega is certainly one of the best contemporary European actors;he shines in this movie and mesmerizes you in a way few actors can do ;Producer Amenabar had cast him in " Tesis" and "Abre Los Ojos " ,two major works ,and Noriega even appears on the photographs in "The others/Los Ostros""El Mal Ajeno " lacks perhaps Amenabar's rigor and the first scenes with the doctor's daughter's are a bit heavy-handed today;but the rest is,if a little confusing,interesting from start to finish .The subject of the healer has already been treated ,but never before as in this work,without a hint at religion or magic .And if there is something vaguely "religious" ,it deals with the old testament :"eye for an eye ,tooth for a tooth" ...."a life for a life" .That might explain why we see the doctor dead for a few seconds .The story of the little sister run over and the affair which follows it borrows from old melodramas,but brings it all back home .And the ending makes sense ,if you pay attention to details:-The young doctor shows Noriega his daughter's blood test :"leukemia" he says; but the father ,against all odds ,comments :"it's nothing!" -The injection-Sara,near the patient's bed,smiles sweetly to Pilar ,and her face reflects kindness and compassion...as she holds the girl's hand.As an user cleverly pointed out,all comments should be written in the conditional tense;but even if some elements elude us,emotion survives.
David Traversa
When The Exorcist was premiered it seems that its impact on believers was so great that people in the audience fainted, run out of the theater screaming, there were ambulances outside to take care of the sick, etc. This movie doesn't go that far of course, but I imagine that what they call "sensitive audiences" for rating purposes would view this film with awesome respect for what is going on within the story.I don't believe in anything so, my point of view lets me see this movie from a "naturalistic" perspective, no supernatural phenomena for me.I rented this movie because I thought Alejandro Amenabar was its director, he isn't, he was one of the producers, but even so, the technical part (photography, color, editing, sound, music, etc.) is absolutely perfect, silky the pacing, a pleasure to the eye and to the ear and the discovery of a new promising name in directing. The acting impeccable, and good entertainment too. Not bad for the price of a rental fee.
jotix100
Dr. Diego Sanz is a doctor working at a large Spanish hospital. He specializes in pain management. This man has seen so much suffering around him that, in a way, he has become insensitive about the world around him. His own life is a mess. He is in a loveless marriage to Pilar, a nurse. They have a grown daughter, Ainhoa who is experiencing on her own flesh all the unhappiness around her.After an attempt of suicide by Sara, one of his patients, Diego's life begins to unravel. The boyfriend of the woman shoots the doctor in the parking lot, something that will make Diego experience something of what the people in his care have to deal on a daily basis.This is the first film of Oskar Santos, a protégé of Alejandro Almenabar. The problem with this film lies in the screenplay by Daniel Sanchez Arevalo that experiments with a mixture of styles that does not help the film achieve its noble intentions. On the other hand, credit must go to Mr. Santos for the performances from his cast, especially Eduardo Noriega, who brings a maturity not seldom found in the Spanish cinema. Unfortunately, some of the other cast members do not fare as well because of the way their characters have been written.Another strong asset in the film is the crisp cinematography by Yosu Inchaustegui, who shows intelligence and style behind the camera.
Peter L. Petersen (KnatLouie)
In this Spanish hospital-drama, Eduardo Noriega (Abre los ojos/Transsiberian) plays the main character, Diego, a doctor who has lost his passion for his work, and does not want to get too personal with any of his patients anymore. But one day, a pregnant woman tries to commit suicide, and is submitted to his care at the hospital. Her boyfriend is upset at the way Diego treats their case, and apparently tries to kill him, but instead of dying, Diego gets an incredible ability to heal people simply by touching them. However, Diego does not want this gift, and soon finds out that there is a much darker side to the ability, which makes his Jesus-like ability even less desirable, and he tries to get rid of it again.The film is a careful reminder that we should all treasure what we have, as we never know when it will be gone for good. The acting and directing is brilliant, and leaves us with a very touching and emotional movie, which will be remembered long after seeing the film for the first time.